An unknown gunman has opened fire onto a crowd in the city of Baltimore, Maryland in northeastern United States, killing one person and injuring seven more.

RNA - The assailant took on the targets on Edmondson and Whitmore avenues in West Baltimore at around 05:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, the Associated Press reported, citing Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Michael Harrison.

The fatality was identified as a male, who collapsed behind a Baptist church. The wounded have been transferred to hospitals.

Two cookouts were in progress on opposite ends of the street and shell casings were found in two different locations, Harrison noted. He called the incident “a very tragic, very cowardly shooting.”

The incident appeared to be “extremely targeted,” he said without elaborating.

Acting Mayor Jack Young emphasized that the shooting did not involve the church.

He, however, insisted that those with knowledge about the incident share their information.

The agency said the city, which has chronically been inflicted with high crime rates, witnessed more than 300 homicides last year and the same number in the previous one.

Also on Sunday, a shooting at a synagogue near the southern California city of San Diego left one person dead and three others wounded, local reports said, adding that a 19-year-old male suspect was caught by police. Describing the attacker, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said, "This individual was with an AR-type assault weapon and opened fire on the people inside the synagogue."

The US’s gun laws have staunch supporters among the country’s far-right politicians and activists, most of whom are either members of or associated with the Republican Party.

Resistance to change in the governing legislation has either nipped in the bud or subverted efforts at enforcement of stricter gun control across the country.